4 Antimicrobial consumption in animals
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Report Highlights 2024:
Antimicrobial consumption in animals
In 2024, the total consumption of antimicrobials in animals amounted to 87.46 tonnes of active compounds. Of this total, antimicrobial consumption in pigs accounted for 83.92%, followed by cattle at 9.46%, and poultry at 1.30%.
The Defined Animal Daily Dose (DADD) was revised for pigs and cattle in 2024, with notable changes to neomycin and procaine benzylpenicillin. These revisions significantly impacted the overall treatment proportion (DAPD) calculations, particularly for the antimicrobial classes aminoglycosides and beta-lactamase-sensitive penicillins.
In 2024, antimicrobial use in pigs reached 73.40 tonnes of active compounds, a 0.75% increase from 2023, while overall pig biomass rose by 0.48% due to higher exports. Overall DADD declined by 0.19%, though it rose in sows and piglets, and fell in weaners and finishers. In 2024, daily antimicrobial treatment affected 1.94% of sows and piglets, and finishers, with weaners receiving treatment most frequently (11.64%). Compared to 2023, overall DAPD increased for other penicillins (11.28%), sulfonamides with trimethoprim (6.46%), and beta-lactamase-sensitive penicillins (2.88%), while lincosamides and amphenicols declined by 32.73% and 20.80%, respectively. In sows and piglets, pleuromutilins and aminoglycosides rose by 24.14% and 8.98%, respectively while lincosamides dropped sharply by 73.51%. In weaners, sulfonamides with trimethoprim and other penicillins increased by 27.13% and 16.95%, respectively while amphenicols and tetracyclines fell by 37.32% and 5.76%, respectively. Among finishers, beta-lactamase-sensitive penicillins, tetracyclines and macrolides rose by 6.80%, 6.33% and 2.22%, respectively. Meanwhile, pleuromutilins declined by 6.57%.
In 2024, antimicrobial use in cattle increased to 8.28 tonnes of active compounds, representing a 4.08% rise compared to 2023, while overall cattle biomass declined by 1.8%. In 2024, daily systemic antimicrobial treatment affected 0.27% of adult cattle and 0.81% of young cattle. In adult cattle, the DAPD of other penicillins increased by 26.26%, macrolides by 22.54%, and aminoglycosides by 4.38%, while amphenicols dropped by 12.08%. Among young cattle, the use of amphenicols rose by 17.54%, macrolides by 13.30%, other penicillins by 12.59%, and sulfonamides with trimethoprim by 8.49%, while aminoglycosides declined by 4.78%. Intramammary treatments rose slightly in 2024 compared to 2023. Other penicillins were the most used for dry-cow treatment (50.00%), while beta-lactamase-sensitive penicillins dominated therapeutic intramammary treatments, accounting for 95.24% of use.
In 2024, antimicrobial consumption in poultry totaled 1,140.9 kg of active compounds, representing a 12.63% decrease compared to 2023.
In 2024, cephalosporins were primarily prescribed for pets and horses (46.0 kg) and used as intramammary treatments in cattle (35.0 kg). Fluoroquinolones (13.0 kg) were almost exclusively prescribed for horses and pets.